Judge Thomas Porteous' lawyers began his defense Wednesday with testimony from one of his four children, who said monetary gifts provided him by lawyers were given out of friendship with his family, not to influence his father.

Manuel Balce Ceneta, The Associated PressWednesday marked day three of the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee's trial of federal Judge Thomas Porteous on four articles of impeachment.

Timothy Porteous, a Kenner lawyer, was asked about a bachelor party in Las Vegas, paid for in part by his father's lawyer friends, and a 1994 internship with U.S. Sen. John Breaux, D-La, in which he said Gretna lawyers Bob Creely and Jacob Amato covered some of his living expenses.

"My dad came home and said Uncle Bob and Uncle Jake gave you some money and (want) you to have a real good time and enjoy the experience," Timothy Porteous testified.

He said the two lawyers were longtime friends of the Porteous family, and were part of his life since he was a little boy.

"No disrespect for my father," Timothy Porteous said. "It was done out of love for me."

In cross-examination, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., one of five House impeachment managers, asked the younger Porteous whether he knew that his father's secretary Rhonda Danos had solicited contributions from lawyers in the judge's chambers to help defray the internship costs. Timothy Porteous said he didn't know the particulars, but reiterated that the money was donated strictly out of affection for him.

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Wednesday marked day three of the Senate Impeachment Trial Committee's trial on the four articles of impeachment unanimously approved last March by the House of Representatives.

The committee will issue a summary of the trial, along with transcripts of all impeachment-related proceedings, to the full Senate. The Senate is likely to vote on the four articles during a lame-duck session after the Nov. 2 elections.

Earlier Wednesday, a judicial ethics expert told senators it shouldn't matter as they consider Porteous' ethical conduct whether other Louisiana judges also accepted gifts from lawyers or whether some of Porteous' alleged improper conduct occurred before he became a federal judge.

"Everybody is doing it, or lots of people are doing it can be a slippery slope to hell," Indiana University law professor Charles Geyh said.

Asked by Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., how the Senate should view suggestions that Louisiana somehow operates under a different set of ethical standards than the rest of the country, Geyh said he didn't buy it.

"That's an inappropriate take," said Geyh, saying he doesn't think it's true, although he conceded that local courts often have their own unique traditions or standards. But he said most state judicial codes, including Louisiana's, are based on a national standard.

Danos, who served for 24 years as Porteous' legal secretary, was asked about the time Porteous, while a federal judge in 1999, asked her to pick up an envelope from Amato.

She said she traveled to Amato's office, and asked the attorney's secretary to bring the envelope to her car. She said that when she asked the secretary what was in the envelope, the secretary just rolled her eyes.

"I said never mind. I don't want to know," Danos said.

House members, who are serving as prosecutors in the impeachment proceeding, said the envelope contained $2,000 to $2,500 in cash to cover Porteous' share of costs for his son's wedding. At the time, Amato was part of a group of lawyers involved in a complicated legal dispute over ownership of a Jefferson Parish hospital that Porteous was deciding.

Danos also testified, under questioning by an attorney for Porteous, that the judge always instructed her to never "take the word" of a bail bond agent and confirm all information. Danos said that included bail bond company executives Louis and Lori Marcotte, who testified Tuesday that they provided Porteous with meals, free auto repairs and two trips to Las Vegas.

Also testifying Wednesday was Claude Lightfoot, who drew up a 2001 bankruptcy filing for the judge, which is an issue in the third of four articles of impeachment approved by the House of Representatives. The article alleges the judge intentionally included inaccurate and incomplete information.

Lightfoot told the Senate it was "my idea" to use the name G.T. Orteous in the initial filing, instead of Porteous' real name.

"It was about the stupidest thing I could do," Lightfoot said. His initial "misguided" idea, the attorney said, was motivated by "compassion" to protect the judge from the embarrassment of having the bankruptcy filing disclosed in The Times-Picayune. The intent was always to correct the name within days, and, in fact, the judge's correct name was quickly substituted, Lightfoot said.

But Lightfoot said Porteous didn't disclose to him any gambling losses or winnings, or an IRS tax refund, which he conceded should have been part of the bankruptcy filing.

The Senate committee voted in closed session Wednesday to deny a request by Porteous' attorneys to subpoena a Justice Department Public Integrity section lawyer to explain why the department didn't seek a criminal indictment of the judge. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., the panel's chairwoman, said the vote was "11 ..." and then stopped, after being told by committee staff that the vote was privileged. There are 12 members on the panel, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Carl Tobias, a constitutional law professor at the University of Richmond, predicted the Justice Department would have fought any effort to compel testimony.

Also testifying on behalf of Porteous on Wednesday was former Jefferson Parish Judge Ronald Bodenheimer, who said he always looked up to Porteous in his days as a parish prosecutor because of his skills in the courtroom.

"Everybody had a lot of respect for him. He was very good at what he did," said Bodenheimer, who pleaded guilty to a federal corruption charge related to his relationship with the Marcottes' firm, Bail Bonds Unlimited.

But Bodenheimer, under cross-examination by Schiff, said there was scuttlebutt in the Jefferson Parish courthouse when Porteous was confirmed. Bodenheimer said he knew Porteous would sometimes return to the bench in Jefferson Parish after drinking and he had a reputation of ruling favorably for certain lawyers, though he didn't know if that's true.

"If he can get confirmed, anyone can get confirmed," is how Bodenheimer described the courthouse talk after Porteous' 1994 confirmation to the federal bench.

Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.383.7861.